The present invention relates to a holster for carrying a handgun and, more particularly, to a conventional style holster adapted for wearing on a belt and which includes an integral locking mechanism for preventing removal of the handgun from the holster.
There are numerous prior art devices which have been developed in order to secure handguns. The devices range from trigger locks to steel storage boxes or cabinets. Some of the devices particularly adapted for handguns include electronic apparatus for sounding an alarm when a handgun is removed from a holster. Another inventor has incorporated a pivotable locking arm that is held in place on a holster by a locking screw.
More recently, U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,200 describes a steel storage case having the general form of a holster in that the apparatus receives the barrel end of a handgun with the grip end of the handgun exposed. A plastic wrapped steel cable is welded at one end to one side of the steel case with the remaining free end formed into a loop. A latch is welded to another side of the steel case with the latch being sized to pass through the loop on the cable. The latch has an opening for receiving a conventional pad lock. It is intended that a handgun be retained in this lockable storage case by looping the cable over the handgun and attaching the cable to the latch. The steel case includes a one-half inch thick steel plate attached to a side opposite the latch with the steel plate being drilled to accept passage of a pair of lag bolts for fixedly mounting the case to a wall or other fixed mount. The only perceivable difference between this steel case and prior steel cabinets or storage boxes is that the grip end of the handgun is visible in the case.
There are at least two disadvantages of the above described steel storage case. A first disadvantage is that the case must be uniquely sized to fit a handgun to be stored in the case, first because the case is formed of a non-resilient steel and secondly because the cable is fixed to the case in such a manner as not to be adjustable to different sizes. A second disadvantage is that the case is not intended to be transportable and therefore the handgun must be removed from the case for transport, thus making the handgun accessible and defeating a primary function of the case.